NDTV Explains: Donald Trump Went Plane-Shopping, Got A $200 Million "Gift"
Donald Trump wanted to buy a "most impressive plane" to replace the two aging Boeing 747-200 jets that serve as Air Force One, the President of the United States' personal aircraft.
But Trump, more conscious than most about how crafting public narratives underscoring American might, was also unhappy, even irked. Because the planes he had ordered from Boeing for US$ 3.9 billion in 2018, in his first term, would not be ready before 2027 at least.
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This was unacceptable. "We are the United States of America... we should have the most impressive plane," he declared in West Asia in May 2025, acutely aware the one in use now "is much smaller" than the flashy new jets used by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab emirates.
Qatar wanted to sell a 'flying palace' valued at around US$200 million - with uber-luxurious interiors designed by a Parisian firm, including custom-made rugs from Hong Kong and artwork by American artist Alexander Calder, whose 'Poisson volant' sold for US$30 million in 2014.
The double-decker 747-800 also has a bathroom that is "almost a work of art".
Supply met demand in February; the Qatari government agreed to spend nearly a million dollars to fly the plane non-stop to Trump, then at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, for a look-see.
'Palace in the sky' at Mar-a-Lago
Trump, American publications reported of the plane viewing, was impressed. Sources told CNN he boasted about the opulent fittings, and seemed almost to believe the plane was already his.
He even had a colour scheme picked out - red, white, and blue.
Money, of course, was unlikely to ever be an obstacle. Trump would likely have welcomed a fat price tag to go with his new plane, because that would underline America's financial might.
But Air Force One, the President's 'office in the sky', is built to some of the world's most exacting safety and security standards. The legend goes it can keep occupants safe from nuclear radiation and has state-of-the-art countermeasures to protect against missiles.
And it can stay in the air almost indefinitely.
Buying the luxurious Qatari jet would mean the US Air Force had to literally take the plane apart, strip it down to its nuts and bolts, to ensure there were no electronic bugs or software that could compromise the President's safety, as well as ensure physical integrity.
After all, the US can't trust Qatar with POTUS' life, can it?
"If we had built the plane... knowing it was going to a foreign government... we would probably have bugged it," Thad Troy, an ex-CIA officer serving in Cold War-era Moscow, told Bloomberg.
All this, The New York Times and CNN reported, could mean Trump still would not have a new plane to fly in; retrofitting the Qatari plane to meet those standards could take two years.
As a consequence, there were also concerns over the cost of the deal, particularly since the US government had already signed the nearly US$4 billion deal with Boeing.
Retrofitting the Qatari jet could cost millions more, hardly an ideal state of affairs for a President who was elected on the back of promises to slash government costs and streamline operations.
And then came the twist.
According to the Times, back-channel talks to close this deal had been going on for weeks, led by Trump's Middle East envoy, Steven Witkoff, who had close connections to the Qatari royal family that helped him out when a New York real estate deal went sour.
In fact, it appears Witkoff reached out to Qatar to ask about the plane, one of a set of two custom-made aircrafts. The first had been gifted to Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The Qataris were delighted with the prospect of the sale.
In fact, sources said they had always only expected to sell the plane, not give it away.
All signs now pointed to the US buying the plane off Qatar.
And then Trump completely changed the narrative on May 11, when he said on Truth Social the Qataris would be giving up the multi-million dollar luxury jet for as a donation to the US.
'A GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE'
Trump also claimed it was, in fact, the Qatari royal family that offered the 'gift'.
In Trump's hardcore business world a 'free' deal is always a good thing. He underlined that point on Truth Social, declaring, "Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars when they can get it for FREE from (another) country..."
And this would be a "very public and transparent transaction", Trump said on Truth Social as the White House insisted the deal will comply with all required legal and ethical obligations.
Qatar has not responded to that claim, except to say that if the offer of the jet to Trump is deemed 'illegal' by the US it would be withdrawn. Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani told CNN it would be an 'impersonal transaction... whether on the US or Qatari side'.
A Qatari official told CNN the plane would be a 'gift from the Ministry of Defence to the Pentagon', a 'government-to-government transaction' that will eventually then be 'donated' to Trump's presidential library, allowing him to continue to use it after he leaves office.
But why would Qatar 'gift' the plane?
What the Qatari side actually feels about this - about the potential sale of a US$200 million jet being bulldozed into a 'government-to-government gift' is anybody's guess.
They have pointed to a strong relationship to downplay the 'FREE' transfer, but the truth is also that the Qatari government has just agreed a trillion-dollar broad trade economic with the US.
This includes a US$96 billion-deal to buy Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X aircraft, although just when the struggling American aviation giant will clear an ever-growing backlog and get to the Qatari order is unclear.
Qatar's reaction aside, Democrats and even some Republicans are distinctly unhappy, worrying as much about the propriety of the American President receiving a 'gift' of such value as the possibility it would translate to Qatari interference in US affairs, whether at home or abroad.
"Nothing says 'America First' like Air Force One, brought to you by Qatar," the Dems' Chuck Schumer wrote on X, "It's not just bribery, it's premium foreign influence with extra legroom."
So, does Trump have a new plane?
Well, no. Not yet.
Pentagon sources told multiple American publications, including CNN, that US and Qatari lawyers are still figuring out how to make it okay for the President of one country to receive a multi-million gift from a foreign power, and then continue using said gift after his term ends.
The groundwork, though, has been laid.
Sources told ABC News, which first reported the story, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth had concluded, based on legal advice, it is 'legal for the Department of Defense to accept the gift and later turn it over to the Trump library', and that it does not violate the Constitution.
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